compassion fatigue in the animal care community glickman1

Compassion Fatigue in the Animal Care Community

Presented by:

Lauren Glickman, Executive Director of Feral Cat Spay/Neuter Project and Principal Consultant of FORAY Consulting & Associates

Hilary Anne Hager, Director, National Volunteer Center, HSUS and Associate

Consultant of FORAY Consulting & Associates

May 2013

Introductions

Today’s Agenda

• Introduction and Housekeeping

• Why You Do What You Do

• Compassion Fatigue and Trauma

• Three Levels of Trauma Stewardship

• Symptoms and Signs

• Our Nervous System

• Skills

• Providing a Good Death

• Self-Care Plan

• Conclusion

A Few Requests

• Listening No side conversations

• Learning Partnership Participate and contribute

Speak up if something isn’t working

• Respect Creating a safe space

Anonymity vs. Confidentiality

Cell phones off

A Word About Listening

Joy and Pain

Locus of Control

• External – the quality of your life is determined by what happens around you, the actions of others, or to chance factors

• Internal – the quality of your life is determined by your behaviors and your reactions to what happens around you

Compassion Fatigue

• Also known as:

Secondary traumatic stress disorder, vicarious traumatization, empathic strain and secondary trauma

• A holistic way of thinking about it:

Trauma Stewardship – “refers to the entire conversation about how we come to do this work, how we are affected by it, and how we make sense of and learn from our experiences.” - Laura van Dernoot Lipsky

Compassion Satisfaction

• Compassion satisfaction refers to

the pleasure you derive from being able to do your work well.

positive feelings about your colleagues and their efforts

your ability to contribute to the work setting or even the greater good of society.

your feelings about your ability to be an effective caregiver.

Worrying about things we

cannot control is our favorite form of self-harassment.

~ Gavin de Becker

Break Time

15 Minutes

Levels of Trauma Stewardship

Individual • The most profound influence on our ability to cope

• Think about –

Your own history of hardship.

The resources available to you in the past.

What led you to this work? Consider your journey to the seat you're in now.

Do you identify with the trauma you see? Is this personal?

Levels of Trauma Stewardship

Organizational • Make better

• Make worse

Societal • Systemic isolation

High-Risk Factors Exposure to:

Abused animals Limited financial resources—organization and client Administrative policies Poverty distress Euthanasia Distressed customers The constant stream of demands Uncertainty/Ambiguity Volumes of distressed people in a short amount of time Conflict within the workplace Conflict in personal life Stressed-out peers Attrition Constant change Physical danger

The Signs

• Anger and cynicism

• It’s never enough

• Inability to empathize/Numbing

• Hyper-vigilance

The Signs

• Addiction

• Diminished creativity

• Minimizing

• Inability to embrace complexity

The Signs

• Dissociative moments

• Grandiosity and inflated sense of importance

• Sense of persecution

• Fear

The Signs

• Chronic exhaustion/physical ailments

• Inability to listen/deliberate avoidance

• Helplessness/Hopelessness

• Guilt

Discussion

Your Nervous System • Sympathetic nervous system

Reactive

Perceived threat (stress, anxiety)

Fight, flight or freeze (limited options)

Language is less available (less articulate)

Cortisol – stress hormone

• Parasympathetic nervous system Receptive

Calm (non-anxious)

Rest, relaxation (enjoyment)

Creative (many options)

Language is available (articulate)

Intentional

DHEA – happiness hormone

Stress-Related Hormones

Increased susceptibility to

illness and disease

For things to change,

we must change.

For things to get better,

we must get better.

~ Heidi Wills

Lunch

Complaining

• What do you love about complaining?

• What do you hate about complaining?

• Invitation

Triangulation

Being a Non-Anxious Presence

You influencing you

• Have thoughts on purpose

• Unclenching

• Engage cyclical breathing

• Recognize your stress cue

• Remember differentiation

• Be careful about sharing anxiety

For things to change,

we must change.

For things to get better,

we must get better.

~ Heidi Wills

Break Time

15 minutes

Self-Validation

The Ladder of Inference (developed by Chris Argyris)

We begin with Real Data & Experience (What is So) We then Select Data & Experience that we pay attention to. To this Selected Data & Experience we Affix Meaning. (Your Story) We develop Assumptions, come to Conclusions, and finally develop Beliefs. Beliefs then form the basis of our Actions which create additional Real Data & Experience

If there were a magic pill…

…it would be gratitude.

• Articulate three skills you have that make you a valuable

member of your animal care team?

• What are three things you appreciate about the physical space in which you work?

• What are three things you love about your home?

• Write down three compliments your best friends would give you.

• Describe three ways you make life better for animals in your community.

Providing a Good Death

• Framework • We Thinking • Your Self • Structural Elements • Tools • Honoring the Moment

Self-Care Plan

Closing the Day

• Share impressions

One or two concepts from today that were particularly resonant

A commitment/declaration about your intention

A request for support

An acknowledgment

Something else?

Thank you for the work you do!

Lauren Glickman 206-696-0850 lauren@forayconsulting.com

Hilary Anne Hager 240-753-3387 hhager@humanesociety.org